© 赤坂アカ×横槍メンゴ／集英社・【推しの子】製作委員会
It looks like the number “1” is synonymous to YOASOBI and their song “Idol” — the opening theme song of Oshi no Ko anime — in 2023. After topping the Music category of Yahoo! Japan Search Awards 2023, the song “Idol” also topped five song charts of Billboard Japan in 2023. We repeat, that’s five song charts, topped by one song, in one year.
These are the Billboard Japan song charts that “Idol” topped in 2023 (take a deep breath): HOT 100, HOT Animation, TOP User Generated Songs, Billboard 2023 Annual Streaming Songs, and Billboard 2023 Annual Download Songs. Phew! But wait, there is one more. YOASOBI also topped Billboard Japan’s Artist 100 chart for 2023. That’s a total of six #1 rankings for an artist and a song.
According to Billboard Japan, “Idol” has been streamed 527,143,965 times, it has 148,838,759 video views, and 509,751 downloads.
Internationally, the song also did well, placing 42nd on the Billboard Global 200’s Year-End Charts, and 19th on the Year-End Charts of Billboard Global Excl. U.S.. The song’s ranking on the former chart is the first time for a J-pop artist to break into the TOP50, and on the latter chart, it is the highest rank a J-pop artist has ever reached.
“Idol” also ranked in Apple Music’s several 2023 charts. The song ranked #2 on the 2023 Top Songs 100: Japan, #7 on the 2023 Top Songs 100: Global, and #1 on the 2023 Top Songs 100: Sing. The Top Songs 100: Sing is the chart for the most played songs using the Apple Music Sing function worldwide in 2023. Also in Taiwan, the song ranked second on KKBOX’s Top 10 Most Played Japanese Singles in Taiwan in 2023.
Indeed, 2023 is a hit year for YOASOBI‘s “Idol” song. It was then very fitting to close the year with a grand performance of the song in NHK‘s 74th Kōhaku Uta Gassen (“Red and White Song Contest”), where YOASOBI is part of the Red Team. Of course, that performance is also a hit, when NHK Music’s YouTube channel posted a clip of it on January 1, and has now garnered over 10 million views as of press time. YOASOBI, along with the other members of the Red Team, won the contest by a landslide.
Sources: Billboard Japan (link 1, link 2, link 3), Billboard U.S. (link 2), Music Natalie, Zeek Magazine (Irene, via Internet Archive: Wayback Machine)
